-LRB- CNN Student News -RRB- -- January 13 , 2011

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Transcript

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT . THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED .

CARL AZUZ , CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR : A problem that wo n't be solved , even if the solution is clear . The story and the reasons , leading off today 's broadcast of CNN Student News ! My name is Carl Azuz !

First Up : Winter Storm Woes

AZUZ : Florida is the only state in the union without snow on the ground and that includes Hawaii ! In the northeast , that snow is deep . When a weather emergency is called in New York , which gets more than two feet of snow a year , you know it 's bad . More than 1,700 flights have been canceled at New York city 's 3 major airports , though the city 's public schools stayed open . They 're closed in Philly and Boston , though . And across Massachusetts , 64,000 homes had their power knocked out . Forecasters expect 24 inches in some areas . Some of this can be blamed on the storm system that iced out the southeast . And Martin Savidge explains how and why , that 's likely to happen again !

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MARTIN SAVIDGE , CNN CORRESPONDENT : Officials knew Atlanta was n't prepared for the storm . In fact , over the years the city made a conscious decision not to be ready .

Historically , what 's been the attitude of the city when it comes to snow or ice ?

MAYOR KASIM REED , -LRB- D -RRB- ATLANTA : Well , I mean , when I was a boy growing up here it was a day off , a day or two off . But now that I 'm mayor , that 's fundamentally different .

SAVIDGE : Atlanta has relied on two basic facts -- southern snowstorms are rare , and the best way to get rid of the snow is to simply let it melt . That logic fails about once a decade . This time the city remained shut down for days as roads became impassable . In fact the roads are still so bad I could n't get to the experts I wanted to interview , so I called them .

Do we have any idea of what this snow event for the city of Atlanta may cost ?

TOM CUNNINGHAM , FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF ATLANTA -LSB- ON PHONE -RSB- : No , not right now .

SAVIDGE : Cunningham says because a convention might have been snowed out does n't mean the city lost money . Remember all those passengers stuck at the airport ? Most would have just passed through . Instead they spent money on hotels and ate at area restaurants . What about all those businesses who could n't work because their employees could n't get in ?

CUNNINGHAM -LSB- ON PHONE -RSB- : There is certainly some lost income associated with hourly workers not being able to get in and get paid . A lot of that aggregate output is going to be made up over the course of the year .

SAVIDGE : But why lose it at all ? Why not just buy the equipment to handle the snow ? I got that answer in my very next call to the Georgia Department of Transportation .

JILL GOLDBERG , DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY , GDOT -LSB- ON PHONE -RSB- : A snowplow is $ 250,000 . You would need so many of them it would be $ 100 million or more to shell out in order to truly cover all of the interstates .

SAVIDGE : And that 's not likely to happen in this economy .

There are many businesses that were unable to do business , employees could n't come in . Millions of dollars , maybe tens of millions , maybe more , lost over what appears to be this 3 day period ? Still not worth buying the trucks :

REED : My answer right now is no .

SAVIDGE : And you know what , the economist says the mayor 's probably right . It appears that the business community , at least for now , is in agreement with the city that these events are so rare that its not worth the expense of investment of equipment and personnel .

CUNNINGHAM -LSB- ON PHONE -RSB- : I think that 's a fair assessment .

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House Condemns Shooting

AZUZ : A tone of coming together at the U.S. House of Representatives . Yesterday , lawmakers held a bipartisan Congressional prayer service in honor of the 19 shooting victims in Arizona . House Speaker John Boehner said , `` our nation mourns for the victims , it yearns for peace and it thirsts for answers . '' Later , the House planned to vote on a Resolution , a statement , that spoke out against the Arizona shooting . President Obama left Washington , D.C. for Tucson , Arizona yesterday . Last night , he was scheduled to speak at a memorial service for attack victims . The president and first lady , whom you see here , were also planning to spend time at the University of Arizona in Tucson , where they were going to visit with victims ' families .

Blog Report

AZUZ : We 're turning now to our Facebook page , for some of your comments on the Arizona shooting . Justin writes that even if the suspect is mentally unstable , he was stable enough to target the Congresswoman , and therefore should be tried and thrown into prison . Savannah lives in a town near Tucson , in Gabrielle Giffords ' area . She said she was completely shocked and that this was a horrible tragedy that never should 've happened . And Aubrey states , `` when things like this happen , I often wonder what were the signs that he was going to do this , and why could no one see them ? '' All of these comments from Facebook.com / cnnstudentnews . And on our blog : Jacob believes that in order for someone to carry a gun , they need to have a mental stability test . And listen to what Ben says : `` This was a flaw in U.S. defense ; There was n't enough security at this gathering to prevent the shooting from happening . But if we lived in a civilized country , we would n't need that security . '' You can talk to us at Facebook.com / cnnstudentnews . And of course at our blog at CNNStudentNews.com !

Is This Legit ?

CNN STUDENT NEWS : Is This Legit ? Queensland is a state in New Zealand . Not Legit ! Queensland is a state in Australia .

Australia Floodwaters Rising

AZUZ : Parts of Queensland , Australia are suffering through what 's being called the worst natural disaster in the state 's history . Massive flooding has left huge areas of Queensland underwater . And it 's not just the people in the middle of these floods who 've been affected . Some areas that were able to stay dry have been completely cut off for weeks . Supplies had to be brought in by helicopter . Phil Black is where people are racing against the rising tide .

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PHIL BLACK , CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT : The Brisbane river churned swiftly , sweeping away boats , their jetties and other huge pieces of debris . And the water steadily began creeping beyond its banks . But this was just the beginning . This marker on a riverside pub showed what to expect . 2011 is predicted to get very close to the floods of 1974 . Very quickly the first streets were inundated and locals were shocked by the water 's speed .

It 's well up there already is n't it ?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE : It is . It 's coming up real quick .

BLACK : All along the river people desperately packed what they could into cars and trailers . They raced the water , and some kept going even when they were clearly falling behind . Philip Johnston got his family out before the floods reached his home .

PHILIP JOHNSTON , BRISBANE RESIDENT : We 've got places to go to so we 're right with that . Some of the lower lying guys are going to lose everything .

ADAM BESWICK , BRISBANE RESIDENT IN ROW BOAT : Water was halfway up the driveway . Waist deep at the gate .

BLACK : We rowed with Adam Beswick to his home , past others with water already up to the ceiling . Beswick 's house is on a small hill and on stilts , but he believes it will be swamped .

If the prediction is accurate , how high up will this come ? How much of it will be covered ?

BESWICK : I would probably think up to this ridge here but not the main ridge .

BLACK : And all of this is just one street . What you are seeing here is going to be experienced by , it 's estimated , more than 20,000 homes and properties across the city . Some people were clearly taking things casually . Some were too casual and too slow to realize the seriousness of their situation . More proof of just how quickly this water is coming in . These rescue boats have been called out to help people who very suddenly found themselves surrounded by water .

UNIDENTIFIED MALE : We could n't evacuate before and we just could n't go anywhere so we ended up calling the police .

BLACK : How would you describe what you 've seen out there ?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE : It 's pretty horrendous actually . Especially looking at the river . It 's just frightening looking at the power of nature there .

BLACK : The extent of that power will be known soon with flood waters expected to peak here on Thursday .

Phil Black , CNN , Brisbane , Australia .

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Shoutout

CNN STUDENT NEWS : We know you want a Shoutout dedicated to your class on CNN Student News and there is one way to get it , so listen up , y' all ! First : Have your teacher take an original photo of your school . It has to be an original , not taken from anywhere else . Then : Head to CNNStudentNews.com , and scroll down the page to the `` How Do I '' box on the left side . You click `` How do I get a Shoutout ? '' And you follow the instructions to get your iReport to us . Hope to hear from you soon !

Before We Go

AZUZ : If you 've ever visited us here at the CNN Center , you 've been only a snowball 's throw , from the world famous Peachtree Street . These days , it 's more like an ice rink . A place where driving is deleterious , but skating is serious ! Or at least seriously possible . Of everyone who 's ever passed through the middle of downtown Atlanta , this guy 's got ta be one of the only people ever , to do it on ice skates .

Goodbye

AZUZ : At least as far as ice-see it . It 's like Peachtree on ice : A once-in-a-lifetime sight to ski . We 'll ski ya tomorrow , on air , online , on iTunes , and probably still on ice . I 'm Carl Azuz !

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A winter storm slams the northeastern United States

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The U.S. House of Representatives condemns the Arizona shooting

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Massive floods leave vast areas of Australia underwater

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